by Nina Roesner

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Prayers Appreciated…

Last night, the daily dark thoughts that I’ve been turning over to God moment-to-moment style took hold of my subconscious.

I wasn’t worrying, but I wrestled all day…Someone really close to me with a life-threatening illness and too-long wait for the next doctor’s appointment, a friend’s son hospitalized, another one moving across the world, multiple serious concerns and woes for a number of our church family and our good friends… and my own child-boy-man graduate going in for surgery today to have the metal bar removed from his chest that was implanted to pull his sternum out of his heart a few years back.

These things all spilled over unchecked last night into the strangest of nightmares that seemed to never end.

18 The next day as we were being violentlystorm-tossed, they began to jettison the cargo; 19 and on the third day they threw the ship’stackle overboard with their ownhands. 20 Since neithersunnorstarsappeared for manydays, and nosmallstorm was assailing us, from then on allhope of our being saved was gradually abandoned. 21 When they had gone a longtimewithoutfood, thenPaulstood up in their midst and said, “Men, you ought to have followed my advice and not to have setsail from Crete and incurredthisdamage and loss. 22 “Yet now I urge you to keep up your courage, for there will be noloss of lifeamong you, but only of the ship. 23 “For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I servestoodbefore me, 24saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul ; you muststandbeforeCaesar; and behold, God has granted you allthose who are sailing with you.’ 25“Therefore, keep up your courage, men, for I believeGod that it will turn out exactly as I have been told. 26 “But we mustrunaground on a certainisland.”

So this morning, as we walk into this day, I am reminded that even if we get it wrong – He’s still with us. I am reminded even if we’re in the midst of a horrible storm, God is still speaking. Even if our courage fails and we think all is lost, our souls are saved because we have chosen to ask Christ to forgive us, and set our lives about the business of following Him, making Him Lord.

And I’m reminded of the amazing things God did when we went through the implanting of the bar, and I choose to remember the blessing, instead of giving over to fear and thinking about the horrifying mistake that was made that no child or parent should ever have to go through. I choose now, and will all day, to pray for those taking care of him, refusing to fan the flames of fear that lick around the periphery of my heart.

And I pray that I learn to listen so well that I can be just like Paul. I want to SEE angels, in addition to hearing God’s voice through His Word, circumstances and the world around me. Call me crazy, but yeah, I want to see angels.

As for me, I plan to spend the time in the waiting room working on editing – I physically shudder when I think of the copious amounts of work I have to do to get the Daughters of Sarah class ready for the women coming to our first training in June. And yet I am thankful for the work, because focusing on that will help me take those other thoughts captive.

Now to just learn to do that in my sleep! 🙂

I will be praying for better rest tonight, that’s for sure.

Thanks for being on the journey. If you think about it today, prayers are appreciated.

10 thoughts on “Prayers Appreciated…”

nina, YOu can do this! You are a very strong daughter of the Lord. I have learned so much from your book and your blogs and all the people on here. I had a MAJOR fight with my beloved the other day that was provoked by 2 things.. his Alcohol followed by my disrespect. He knows what Alcohol does to him and I was angry about him not heeding to what he knows. I prayed all night. The right kind of prayers! I prayed that I could learn to better respect him and GOd and let God deal with him, and I prayed that my beloved’s eyes, ears, heart and mind be again re-opened to the Lord that he would know Him and turn to Him.
Its not perfect, but I have kept my mouth shut about the situation since, allowing GOd to work with out the normal fear that used to plague me. I prayed that God’s peace would wash over me and it did! I do not expect that my beloved will appologize, though it would be nice.. What I know will happen though is that God will not allow this to destroy me, my marriage, or my feelings of well being, because He is with me always and His plans are for my good and not harm..
Prayers for you, your son, your friends suffering, your ministry and all those with a Godly message to proclaim.

Jesus, please let her son see Your hands guiding the doctor’s hands, Your hands guiding the nurses’ hands, and Your hands on Nina’s hands as she holds his hands before and after the procedure. Please fill the room with Your presence, and let him and all of them feel and know Your presence throughout the entire time.

God, please be with the doctor as he removes the bar from Nina’s son’s chest. Please let the procedure go perfectly. Please give him good nurses, ones who will give the best care, ones who have integrity. And please keep the pain down to a minimal level. Let her son sleep through the whole thing. In Jesus’ name.